Of Secrets and Suspicions
by Hopeakaarme
Summary: The tennis club seems startled at Oishi's new hair. However, even more startled they are at a sudden discovery during a practice match against Rikkai. Shounen ai NiouOishi. Sequel to Of Dye and Dates.


Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: A sequel to _Of Dye and Dates_. I think there might another sequel or two.

* * *

Of Secrets and Suspicions  


* * *

"Huh? Where's Oishi-senpai?" asked Horio as the first thing in the beginning of the practice. "And who's that weird guy in a regular's uniform?"

Horio was, somewhat surprisingly, not the only one confused. Oishi wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad one. He did feel somewhat insulted, though, as upon seeing him Fuji simply raised his face towards the sky and thanked several deities for the change. Tezuka seemed somewhat unaffected, as did Echizen, while Inui simply murmured something about 'ii data' and scribbled some more into his notebook. The rest of the regulars, however, seemed to be unable to stop staring at him.

"This is great," Eiji giggled, mostly recovered from the shock as he'd been the first one to see Oishi in the morning. "We'll win that practice tournament just because the opponents can't stop staring at Oishi instead of following the ball!"

"Now, don't exaggerrate, Eiji," Oishi sighed. "It's not that bad."

"That's exactly the problem," Eiji said with a grin. "It's not bad, and that's what's new!" At Oishi's half-hearted glare, the redhead just stuck out his tongue. "Oh, come on now. Oishi's so much cuter now than before! Who knows," a blue eye winked at him, "maybe he can even get a date now!"

Thankfully Eiji did not demand an explanation for the deepening of the blush on his face.

* * *

It was supposed to be just for fun, Oishi recalled later. Niou was bored, after all, and wouldn't let go of the subject until Oishi agreed. Besides, he felt he owed the other boy at least that much. People may have looked twice at his now purple hair, but at least they rarely were left staring. 

Somehow, though, the just-for-fun date turned into two. And then three. And then, one day, Niou kissed him without any kind of warning and Oishi realized it probably wasn't just for fun anymore.

Of course, Niou wasn't the easiest person to deal with. He enjoyed teasing people and would even hurt them to get what he wanted. However, he was also loyal to those few he cared about -- even if they weren't spared from his pranks any more -- and made for an interesting company for a conversation. He also never told Oishi not to worry so much. If anything, his tendency to get into trouble appealed to Oishi's mile-wide caring streak.

Even after they had established that there was more to their dates than just killing time with someone they didn't find horrifyingly disgusting -- that what that 'more' was, was still debatable -- they agreed not to let their team mates know. Even as most of the rival schools sort of got along now -- until the next year's tournaments, anyway -- everybody seemed to still agree that the preferred form of inter-team interaction was standing on the opposite sides of a net.

Whatever happened when the news got out... Well, they would deal with that then.

* * *

"I think Oishi's seeing someone, nyaa." 

Momo blinked at Eiji, pausing in eating his third burger. "Huh? Why'd you think so, Eiji-senpai?" he asked, confused.

"Well, suddenly he has something to do every other day," Eiji complained. "It's been weeks since he last didn't have plans for Sunday, and he never tells me what those plans are. And then sometimes he gets a text message or something and there's this strange expression on his face, nyaaa."

"Now that you mention it," Echizen said thoughtfully, "Oishi-senpai has been smiling more lately. Maybe that's the reason?"

"Why do you sound so upset about it, Eiji-senpai?" Momo asked with a grin. "Are you jealous or something?"

"No, I'm not!" Eiji replied. "Oishi's a nice guy and deserves to have somebody, and before you can ask, I like somebody else. But I'm curious, nyaa! And annoyed that he can't tell me. He always says it's 'just a friend' he's going to see. I'm his doubles partner! I have the right to know if he's dating, nyaa!"

"Now, don't take it like that, Eiji-senpai." Momo grinned. "If it's anything serious, I'm sure we can spy it out of him!" He winked and continued, "Now, let's just finish eating and head for the court. You're coming, ne?" He hadn't before thought to connect it to Oishi's busier schedule, but Eiji had developed a habit of going to the street court with him. Ryoma was rarely interested -- it was doubles, after all -- but Momo had noticed that playing doubles with Eiji was not only fun but also an easy way to beat almost all the opponents. And he liked winning.

And, even as they soon walked towards the street court, he never thought to wonder just why Eiji was so eager to come along.

* * *

"There has been a 34 percent increase in the frequency of Oishi's smiles," Inui reported calmly. "He also worries approximately 29 percent less than before. His playing has improved by 9 percent. I'd say there is a 14 percent chance the cause for this is a girlfriend, a 58 percent chance it is a boyfriend, and a 28 percent chance it is something else." Adjusting his glasses, he looked at Tezuka. "Whatever it is, I say it is beneficial for the team, even if in the case of a boyfriend there is a 83 percent chance it is a member of a rival tennis team." 

The captain nodded. "I'll trust your judgement, Inui," he said.

And that was all that was done about it.

* * *

"Well, that was a great match," Momo said with a grin. "It was really fun!"

"I have to agree," Kamio said. "You are very fast, Kikumaru-san."

"Nyaa, that's not true," Eiji said brightly. "Kamio-kun is much faster than I am, nyaa!"

"You're both too fast, both definitely too fast," Momoshiro said. "If you played as a pair, you'd probably trip all over each other!"

At this, Eiji and Kamio glanced at each other. Then, the two redheads looked back at Momo.

"Was that a challenge?" Eiji asked, grinning.

* * *

"Ah, Sadaharu," Renji said, nodding at his friend. "Is there anything new in Seigaku?"

Inui nodded. "Apparently, Oishi is dating someone," he said. "My data is still insufficient on the other persons' identity. What about Rikkai?"

"Niou, too, has found someone but refuses to tell just who it is." Renji smiled. "Such a coincidence, ne?"

Inui smirked. "Well, at least there is a 97 percent chance there is no connection between these two cases."

Renji laughed.

* * *

Momoshiro and Shinji lost 6-3. Momoshiro grumbled about it being only because as one half of the Golden Pair Eiji worked well with anyone.

Meanwhile, the other half of the Golden Pair was testing just how well his mouth worked with Niou Masaharu's.

* * *

The practice 'tournament' was more a series of matches between different teams, arranged by their coaches, victories and loses meaning nothing but pride. Today, Seigaku was scheduled to face Rikkai, something few of them were looking forward to. It was obvious the second best team wanted revenge for the Nationals finals.

Doubles Two ended in Seigaku's victory, Inui and Kaidoh re-establishing their strength as a doubles pair against Marui and Jackal. As Doubles One was about to start, however, Eiji seemed rather displeased by the line-up.

"Mou, I don't want to play against them again," Eiji whined, half-glaring at Niou and Yagyuu on the other side of the net. "What if they do the switch thing again?"

"Don't worry about that," Oishi said, smiling a bit as he glanced at the smirking Niou. "They're their real selves, now."

Eiji gave him a curious gaze. "How do you know that, nyaa?"

Oishi smiled. He couldn't very well tell just why he was able to tell the two apart, now could he? "Just trust me," he said.

And, as he often did, Eiji indeed trusted Oishi.

The match started out fairly equally, neither side giving in. As the situation was two games all, Oishi's serve, something unexpected happened, though. Trying to hit a ball just out of his reach, Niou fell down, landing on top of his hand. He sat up, holding his wrist with a grimace. 

"What happened?" asked Oishi worriedly, running to the net. "Are you all right?"

Niou glanced at his wrist. "I probably sprained my wrist," he grumbled. "Nothing serious, though."

"Serious enough that we have to retire, though, I fear," Yagyuu said. "You'll have to have somebody take a look at that."

"It doesn't matter," Niou replied. "I can play with my other hand just fine."

"Of course it matters!" Oishi exclaimed. "Even if your other hand works, you'll only injure yourself further by not getting that treated! You can't play any further!"

Niou scowled, apparently ignoring the weird glances they were getting from their doubles partners and the audience. Sure, Oishi was the type to be concerned for anyone, but he rarely got this fierce. "And why exactly should I do as you say?" the Trickster asked.

"Because if you don't, I'll get worried." For a moment, they kept looking at each other, not paying attention to anyone or anything else. Then, Oishi said, "Masaharu. Please."

At this, Niou sighed. "Fine," he said. "Worrywart."

Oishi ran a hand through his hair, a habit he had only developed lately. "Only because you won't look after yourself properly," he said.

And then, the spell of the moment was broken by Eiji, who grasped on Oishi's arm and squealed loudly. "I can't believe it!" he announced loudly. "The one Oishi's seeing is Niou of all people, nyaa!"

"Er... that is..." Oishi stammered, flushing a bit. Apparently irked at either this or Yagyuu's somewhat shaken questions as to whether this was true, Niou stood up, walking towards the net. Once there, he grasped on Oishi's shirt, pulling the other boy closer.

Out of all the things Niou had done on the court or outside it, none had ever caused as much of shock in everybody present as now his kissing of Oishi. To him, this was merely an added bonus more than a cause for shame.

...Even if he probably would run laps for it later...

* * *

"Sadaharu?" Renji asked as his friend walked to his side where he was watching the Singles Three game. Inui, as far as he knew, had been watching Doubles One. "What is it?"

There were only two words in Inui's response. "Three percent."

For a moment Renji simply stared at the other data player. Then, he sighed. "Well, who would have thought? I owe Seiichi a thousand yen, now."

* * *

The fuss about the semi-scandalous relationship died down surprisingly quickly. The other regulars seemed to prefer pretending it hadn't happened at all, which didn't particularly bother Oishi. Only Fuji actually made more than a fleeting comment on it, openly congratulating him for making such an 'interesting' choice. Oishi wasn't entirely sure whether this was a good thing or a bad one.

They had no more time to think about Rikkai, anyway, as their next opponent loomed closer every day. Fudoumine was still not something to take lightly, even after the challenge of Rikkai.

Eiji wondered whether he would get to see Kamio play.


End file.
